


Welcome Home

by guardianofdragonlore



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: It starts off sad but i swear it gets better, Look the standard post canon fic, M/M, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-05-31
Packaged: 2018-11-07 04:33:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11051406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guardianofdragonlore/pseuds/guardianofdragonlore
Summary: The wormhole is beautiful, but sometimes it is what comes through it that steals the show.





	Welcome Home

**Author's Note:**

> My goal is to have 20 drabbles posted. They may not be good but by the end of the day I will sit down, type out a piece of trash in 30 minutes, and then post it despite how tired I am.  
> Why do I do this? Because practise.

The wormhole was a beautiful sight to behold. Swirling colors created an image of serenity and peace, one people lauded across the entire quadrant. A shipment of supplies for the reestablished Bajoran colonies was crossing the violet gates for the fifth time in a single week.

Garak stood in the window, looking out at it for the last time. He hoped against hope it wasn't, but he was no fool. There was very little reason for him to stay. Cardassia needed all the help it could get.

It didn't need a man to sit in a far off space station wallowing in self pity. Odo left. That was that, nothing more. He wouldn't come back within Garak's natural lifespan, no matter how long it was. The other Founders would certainly see to that. From the few times Odo willingly talked about the Link with Garak, he made it clear that they did not approve of his relationship at all. 

Then again, they didn't like Odo's relationships at all, personal or professional.

Garak shook his head. There wasn't time for this. He still needed to finish packing up their.... His quarters. More families moved to the station each day. Commander Kira told him not to worry about space, but Garak could see exactly what his future on the station entailed. Pity from the people who heard his story.

The only Cardassian on the station, having lost his entire planet already, lost his love mere weeks later. Poor Old Garak, tread carefully! 

At least the people he had known from before didn't act differently. They lost just as much as Garak. The strange little family structure among the senior staff had been shattered. 

So much had changed, yet the beauty of the wormhole remained the same.

Turning away, Garak straightened his tunic. There was work to be done, plain and simple work.

It wasn't like he and Odo had made a promise to wait for each other! 

Garak turned back to the window in frustration. He couldn't make himself leave. That's why it had taken him so long to finally accept that Odo wasn't coming back.

It hadn't been this hard to accept Tain had been lost the first time! How could Odo be different from his own father?

Because he loved Odo, and Odo loved him back.

"Stupid," Garak hissed at his reflection. It was barely there, a distorted figure, unrecognizable to anyone who didn't live with it everyday. Every part of him knew Odo wasn't going to return. His mind, his heart, even what was left of his soul knew.

But something must not know, otherwise Garak would have left months ago.

The wormhole flared open again. Strange, nothing was scheduled. The Bajoran woman who replaced Odo as Security Chief was dedicated and fair, but she had no idea how to handle a computer. Maybe Garak would stay, just to watch this ship go by the station. 

What a ship it was! It looked like it was entirely fluidic or even orgswam. Almost fishlike in appearance, it swam through space. Garak didn't know of any species that built ships like that. Maybe it was a Gamma Quadrant species. Several came through already, begging to meet the alliance who managed to defeat the Dominion.

"Excuse me, Mr. Garak?" a young deputy approached him, "Commander Kira wants you in Ops."

Garak blinked. He and Kira were at the strange stage between mutual respect and friendship, but that didn't mean she wanted him anywhere near Ops. She considered it bad luck whenever he went there.

"Of course. And please, Garak will do nicely."

He pushed past the deputy, ignoring the soft look sent at his back. The sooner he left the better. On Cardassia there was no room for pity. Apparently there wasn't even room for hospitals anymore.

On the turbolift, Garak let himself sag. He shouldn't think about Cardassia yet, not when he wasn't even on the planet yet. His mind was unstable enough without adding a case of anxiety.

"Just remember to breath Garak. Remember what Ezri told you about breathing...."

By the time he reached Ops, Garak pulled himself together again.

Ops seemed to be buzzing with a nervous energy. Everyone glanced at him, some staring, others glancing away just as quickly. How.... Interesting.

"What seems to be the problem?" he chirped cheerily. Kira leaned against the handrails leading up to the office.

"I assume you saw the ship that left the wormhole?" she asked, her voice gruff. The last time she used that tone of voice with him was when she came to carry him back to their- the quarters when he drank half a case on kanar.

"One would have been hard pressed not to see it Commander!" Garak answered. "Though I would like to know what this has to do with me in particular, seeing as that I am leaving for Cardassia this afternoon and still need to pack."

At that moment he realized that he had no idea what he was going to do with the giant statue. He truly did need to finish packing. 

"Why don't you go into S- my office and find out for yourself?"

Bajoran expressions weren't something Garak claimed total competence with, but Kira's face did promise one thing. A surprise. Garak did hate surprises. 

Taking careful steps over to the door, Garak could feel the eyes on him. Perhaps anxiety had taken root. There was no reason for everyone to look at him! Another thing to talk to Ezri about before he left. Fantastic. 

Ten steps left. There weren't too many options as to who would want to talk to him personally.

Nine. Maybe a survivor from the Obsidian Order's fleet had taken refuge with an alien species.

Eight. But the Dominion had captured and released all Cardassians who survived. 

Seven. That option was not viable.

Six. Weyoun could have been cloned again and had come to seek revenge.

Five. That was too outlandish, even for Garak.

Four. Odo was an option, it looked like it could have been a Changeling. 

Three. Absolutely not, Garak do not get your hopes up again.

Two. Odo said it could be many years before he returned.

One. It couldn't be Odo.

The doors swished open without Garak even pressing the chime.

"Elim," Odo whispered, standing in front of the desk. He wasn't in his uniform. 

Eight months, and the first thing Garak noticed about Odo was the fact he wasn't in his uniform.

The second thing he noticed was Odo's expression. Tender. So similar to the looks of pity Garak had received since Odo left.

"I didn't expect you to come back," Garak said, looking straight into Odo's eyes. They were still just as blue as the swirls in the wormhole, and even more beautiful.

"If that were true you wouldn't be on the station."

"I suppose I must admit to that. Though I have become favorable to the new Cardassian art exhibit that came to stay on the station during the reconstruction. Would you care to see it?"

Moment later they strolled out of the office, Garak blocking the feeling of eyes on his back, staring into the most beautifully plain face he had ever seen. 

Nothing was solved, but today's transport to Cardassia would have one less passenger to worry about.

**Author's Note:**

> Remember Laas? That's where I got the fish ship from.


End file.
